A Lost Fragment

The world we live in is cruel and harsh; either you are the prey or the predator; where everyone strives for money and inequality is the most common thing in the world we live in. This world is a battlefield where everyone is a soldier, each with a common objective: to earn money. Those who win the battle become rich while the losers become poor and suffer their whole lives. When one is granted with power like money to rule the world, they become afraid and selfish and try to suppress people who have talent just because they might become better and take over the world. This way the world is a dictatorship where the rich have absolute power. This everlasting vicious cycle of unfairness and unjust has been triggered ever since the money came into being. But I thought I could break this cycle. What a fool I was... The poor never defeat the rich. My bestie and I, our dream was shattered. It all started when I was 16. I still remember that day vividly to this day.  

 

I got enrolled in Seikatsu International school, one of the most prestigious schools in the world. I was excited to meet new people but they considered me unapproachable since I was the son of Nicole Stockwood. Nicole Stockwood, a name everyone had heard of. Nicole Stockwood, the owner of Stockwood industries who has a net worth of 200 billion dollars. Within no time, I became a loner. Later that day I heard that a new student enrolled with a scholarship. He was the first student in history who enrolled in a scholarship. The first thing which came to my mind was ‘Damn this dude is good, I must be careful otherwise he may turn out to be my rival!!’ I couldn’t have been more thrilled and excited but that was just me; no one else seemed that excited. 

I wanted to know why, so after some investigation, I heard two girls gossiping in the back alley talking about him. Instead of rushing, I hid around the corner to find out more. The first girl said, “Oh my God, have you heard that there is going to be a new student in our school?” The other one said with a disgusting tone in her voice,” I have. I even heard that he got a scholarship.” The worst part was that both the girls concluded, ”Then, he must be poor!” I was ashamed and surprised by the people around me. Just because he was poor, everyone considered him weird and disgusting. But I didn’t care about them and just eagerly waited for him.              

After lunch, he finally came. He introduced himself - Adam House. He looked very depressed which was expected. I mean why wouldn’t he? Everyone except me considered him a disgusting creature. To make him feel better I asked the teacher to allow me to sit beside him. The teacher with hesitation said,” No, you shouldn't be in the presence of people like him, let alone be sitting with him. That's absurd." I simply answered,” Dear sir, do you want to listen to me or my dad? He wouldn’t mind giving an explanation to you.” He had no choice but to listen to me. Honestly, I hated myself at that moment because I used my father’s name to threaten a teacher. The next second, I had a resolution in my mind not to use his name as a defense mechanism. He sat beside me and introduced myself. I said, “Hello, my name is Azure Stockwood. It’s a pleasure to meet you." After he heard my name, he gave the most unexpected response. He looked at me and said, “Your eyes, why do they seem to look so colourless and empty?” Firstly, he knew my name meant blue sky and secondly, he was able to understand that I had no particular goal and seemed empty at heart. I couldn’t have been more thrilled and excited.

 

From the day I was born, I felt that I had no purpose in this world. I mean, I have everything that most people only dream of. There was nothing for me to achieve or accomplish. But after I met this unusual yet fascinating kid, I felt he might give me a purpose in life. As I thought, this kid wasn’t ordinary. The way he thinks and the way his brain works was amusing. Every kid and teacher in the school thought that he was insane and a weirdo but to me, he was a genius, a genius who only comes once in a century. We both were the best in academics and sports. But I never defeated him in anything.

 

Although we were similar on the outside we were polar opposites on the inside just like the clear blue sky and dark cloud. I, being the optimistic, light-hearted fool compared to him, playing the pessimistic, dark-hearted realist. Regardless of us being contradictory opposites, we complemented each other just like the blue sky and the dark cloud. Everyone likes to stare at the blue sky endlessly but when a dark cloud covers the blue sky, they get disturbed and stop staring. But everyone forgets an important fact: the dark cloud and the sky need to cooperate to make rainfall. Even though Adam considers us as equals, I didn’t, because Adam was gifted with a rare skill; he could see through lies and could also understand a person’s personality just by their behavior. To be honest, I was quite jealous of that skill. We both being polar opposites helped each other understand our different opinions and perspectives towards the world society. While spending more time together every day, our bond deepened.

 

And finally, I found my purpose in life. It wasn’t just mine, it was our purpose, and it was to change the world by creating a society where people don’t wage battles just to earn money. A place where humans were not selfish. A place where equality was a reality. To make our dream turn into reality, we worked hard day and night, gave public speeches and did community service. With my father’s help, this would have been a piece of cake but I have to do this on my own because that’s just being dependent and I have already been a burden for 16 years. Days went by quickly and we were already in 12th grade preparing for our finals. We both decided to get a scholarship at the London School of Economics by breaking the current record of ninety percent in the IB curriculum. We worked hard and were ready to face the next hurdle towards our goal.

But a week before the exams, Adam’s health deteriorated. The doctor said that he would be fine in five days. Luckily, he had a full recovery or that’s what I thought.

 

The exams were conducted for two whole weeks and I only met him six times during that period, that too only in the examination hall. I noticed that every exam he coughed a lot, and it only increased for each exam. I knew something was going on but he was simply ignoring me. I tried my best to approach him but the more I tried, the harder it was for me to find him. I thought he didn’t want me to worry and just wanted to focus on acing the exams. On the last exam, I got the opportunity to sit beside him. It hurts the body and soul to see your best friend suffering. But I respected his will power and determination. They were only ten minutes remaining and I was pretty confident that I will end my 12th-grade exams with a bang. But Adam was struggling even to move his pen. He had barely any time to check his paper and rushed towards the examiner to submit his paper. I wanted him not to waste any more of his energy so I picked up his stationary and handkerchief.

 

When I picked up the handkerchief I knew what exactly was going on. What I saw on the handkerchief left a scar in my heart. A scar that will remain for eternity. Within in fraction of seconds, tears started rolling down because the handkerchief was filled with his blood!! The whole time he was coughing blood and suffering, all alone. I couldn’t believe my eyes. When I showed him the handkerchief, he realized that I got to know his health condition. He panicked and started running. I dropped everything on hand and chased after him but it was too late. Little did I know that he already arranged a car to escape. I was lost and was in fear that my only friend is going to be no more. I tried to track him down but it was futile. As days passed I became more and more depressed and hopeless. I started to blame myself for not realizing it sooner. I spent two whole years with him but never noticed his health was deteriorating. If I realized earlier, could I have prevented this? I lost everything. My purpose and my existence had no more meaning.

 

Our graduation day came along and I got the highest score in the world with a ninety-nine percent and Adam got ninety-five percent. While we were ready to take our last picture as a class together a car appeared. It was Adam who came out of the car. I was so happy that my best friend is still alive and I was overthinking. He stood beside me in the photograph. While standing beside me he said, “Azure, thank you for everything. You no longer need the help of the dark cloud and I entrust our dream to you. You better not fail me. Goodbye bestie!!” Those were his last words. I was surprised and confused. When I looked at him he had a regretful smile on his face. The photograph was taken and the next moment he was on the ground. I couldn’t believe my eyes, Adam House was dead. My eyes had to be tricking me. This had to be a dream. I touched his cold face and started crying on his body, playing all the precious moments we spent together through my brain. It took me time to get over his death.

Later I found that Adam was diagnosed with stage 2 lung cancer when he enrolled in the school. The principal knew that stage 2 lung cancer was still curable, but he didn’t bother because he came from a poor background. He was envious of Adam’s talents and wanted him to die. While reflecting on these sudden events, the principal said that only the rich deserve gifts and that the poor’s purpose is to kneel before the rich and rot away into thin air when they are no longer needed. I was so angry and frustrated when I heard him speaking. I wanted to kill him at that moment but I knew that wouldn't be in Adam's interests. This school taught me an important lesson. This school taught me that rich people are selfish, cruel and heartless. All the rich care about is themselves and the amount of money they earn. These foolish people are the cause of the world’s current condition. But I’m also grateful for this school to make me realize my purpose in life.

 

     I am ready to enroll in the London School of Economics. I am ready to take another step forward towards our dream. I am ready to let go of my past and look forward to creating a bright future. I am ready to create a world without any poverty. I am ready to create a cloud that drops equality to the whole world. I am ready to spend a lifetime without you.     

Adam House, a name that is going to reverberate in my ears forever. A face that I can never forget. A person who always had my back during the darkest times. The two years I spent with you cannot be replaced and I will cherish those memories till I die.